“I’m Deepa, born in Thanjavur, raised in Mumbai till I was five, and moved to Chennai in 2000. For over twenty years, Chennai was home through school, college, and all the small and big milestones that shaped who I am. My mother has always been my biggest inspiration, constantly reminding me and my sister to build a name for ourselves and to never stop learning. Her belief pushed me to explore new things, from art and writing to stitchery and embroidery, and to always find beauty in creating something by hand.

Architecture was my first love, but life led me to Civil Engineering. I worked as an engineer for a while until one book changed everything. During my long bus rides from Chrompet to Thuraipakkam on the 91 route, I read The Fountainhead. Somewhere between those pages and those daily commutes, I found my courage. I quit my job to study Interior Design, and for the past five years, it’s been my craft, my calling, and my comfort.

Madras, to me, is more than a city. It’s a feeling I’ve never been able to put into words. It’s that quiet warmth on a breezy evening, the familiarity of roads you can navigate blindfolded, the scent of fresh jasmines blending with the rain on Mylapore’s streets. It’s where I grew up, where I learned who I was, and where I felt truly free for the first time.

When I stayed alone during my design course, something shifted within me. The air itself felt different, it smelled like liberty, like the chance to become whoever I wanted to be, while still keeping me grounded enough not to lose myself. I’d run to Marina whenever I felt heavy, climb the lighthouse with friends, watch movies alone for the first time, and then rush back home on weekends, craving the comfort of familiar walls. Those memories now live quietly within me, surfacing every time I step on the beach or walk through the city after rain.

Madras raised me, prepared me, and then sent me out into the world, and even now, sitting miles away in Dubai, I carry its calm, its chaos, and its scent wherever I go.”